Saint James Paris hotel in the 16th arrondissement
Saint James Paris
Let’s get real: It’s never been harder to book restaurant tables in Paris. Not only is tourism booming (a projected 37.4 million visited Greater Paris in 2025, according to the tourist office), but spending levels are higher. As for spring break this year: both AAA Travel and Priceline booking data already show Paris among the most-booked international destinations for American travelers.
Translation? If you don’t speak French or aren’t plugged into the social fabric of this high society, it’s very likely you’ll be ushered toward eateries relegated to the “tourist trade” (read: mediocre and overpriced). It’s the plastic English menu ketchup packet default position, found too often in popular quartiers. In my view, as a former Paris resident and working travel journalist, this is a grave and unforgivable insult. So, I’m here to help you dodge it.
Because Paris is always a good idea. Even (and especially!) for children who don’t eat frog legs, snails or foie gras. It’s the gastronomic capital of the world, and if you know where to eat, it’s one of the world’s best places to teach children to be curious about food, cooking and culinary culture. Expose young palates to this kind of food, eaten without the presence of screens, and you might actually escape the pizza-french fry parent trap once and for all.
Take it from the legendary French chef Alain Ducasse, who writes in his 2017 book Manger Est Un Acte Citoyen: “It is first through the mouth that [children] learn the world. And learning the world is tasting it, digesting it, absorbing it, and then being able, in turn, to put it into words.” He goes on to say that the first time children realize there are other things to eat than mother’s milk, it’s the beginning of a grand adventure. (Michelin stars not required).
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